Have we helped?

How We Help

Dear Friends,

If you love our work then tell the world! Stories about us from people like you will help us make an even bigger impact in our community. GreatNonprofits – the #1 source of nonprofit stories and feedback – is honoring highly regarded nonprofits with their 2017 Top-Rated List. Won’t you help us raise visibility for our work by posting a brief story of your experience with us? All content will be visible to potential donors and volunteers. It’s easy and only takes 3 minutes! Go here to get started! https://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/write/teddy-bears-with-heart-den

Our journey bears and stuffed animals have gone out to over 65,000 children in crisis, forgotten elderly and terminally ill patients. We hope they bring comfort to those in need while they go through some pretty scary situations. Have you received one of our bears and have they been able to help you? Please email us with your story and how the bear/stuffed animal was helpful, we would love to hear from you.

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September 10, 2015

‘Dr. Pink’, my 6 year old daughter’s teddy bear given to her on 6/14/2015 in the CHOMP emergency room the morning she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, has a special place in the hearts of our family members (and on Ms. M’s bed). We were in such a hurry to get Ms. M to the ER that I didn’t even think to grab a lovey. The generous gift of Dr. Pink by one of the ER nurses really helped to relax and focus us all on the love and support that the medical staff at CHOMP (and later at Stanford Children’s Hospital) were giving Ms. M.

Thank you so much for making my little girl smile in a time of such confusion, uncertainly and pain. It’s an immeasurable gift!

Sincerely,
The ***** Family

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September 17, 2015

I have a teddy bear that was sent to me when I was going through breast cancer surgeries. That bear went to surgery with me, & has gone through several other surgeries with me. She sits with the anesthesiologist & is in my arms when I wake up. It is definitely a comfort to have that hug when in the hospital, as well as at home. She was sent to my by a friend in the Rocky Mountain Good Bears den.

On behalf of A Time For Grieving and Healing and 100 Mother’s we are very grateful for your generous donations of love. The teddy bears have made so many children and hurting MOTHER’S smile.

Thank you and all of your selfless volunteers who bag, tag, deliver to us at our front door.

God bless you and yours,

Debbie Aguilar

Founder

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October 25, 2013

I cannot thank Teddy Bears with Heart enough for their ongoing donation of bears to our patients and families. The bears have been incredibly well received and loved all around the hospital. Susan Hanson has been such a joy to work with, and I can truly feel their dedication to us through Susan’s ongoing drive to expand her organization and generosity. The bears we get have been used to help a child through a difficult procedure, brighten up a child’s day, and bring a sense of normalcy into the lives of our patients and families we work with on a daily basis. Thank you so very much Teddy Bears with Heart!

As a Firefighter with The Monterey Fire Department I have had the pleasure of working with TBWH and seeing how their organization has touched the lives and brightened the days of many children in rough times. They supply stuffed animals to ambulance, fire and police departments for distribution at the emergencies. As a professional I am very impressed with what this organization is doing.

In June my son was diagnosed with cancer. I got to see and feel first hand the joy it brought my son when the transporting ambulance crew gave him one of the stuffed animals that TBWH supplied them. We contacted Susan Hanson from TBWH and sent her pictures of our son with his toy. We kept in contact with Susan as we began the treatment. TBWH went even further and found that many children from this area are transported regularly to Lucille Packard for treatment. They contacted Lucille Packard and have begun to supply many more sick children with toys for comfort. This organization truly has a HEART for children (and adults). My family and many others have been blessed by the generosity of this amazing organization.

Sincerely,

Vincent W. Lombardi

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April 8, 2013

I am the Fire Prevention Specialist II for the Madera– Mariposa- Merced Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. One of my duties is to coordinate the “Hug A Bear” program for our Unit. This program supplies all of our fire engines at 42 fire stations with “bears” generously provided to us by Teddy Bears with Heart.

These “bears” come to us brand new, individually wrapped and with an identification tag. This may not seem like a lot but to someone on a fire engine it is huge. The bears “ride along” with our engine crews and would become very dirty very quickly if not securely wrapped.

I have listened to comments from EMT’s and fire engine crews on how valuable these bears are during a crisis for a child and their family. It provides that child with comfort and hope.

Teddy Bears with Heart are an excellent organization and I am so grateful for their support. My position is incredibly busy but one item I do not have to worry or plan is our shipments of “teddy bears” for the stations. I am routinely contacted by Teddy Bear with Heart to check on our inventory and coordinate the next shipment.

I would like to take this opportunity to say how thankful I am to be associated with Teddy Bears with Heart and hope our partnership continues for many years.

Sincerely,

Karen Guillemin, Fire Prevention Specialist II

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March 21, 2013

Imagine for a moment being a child and hearing that you have to stay overnight in the hospital. How would you feel in a strange place with strange people and strange gadgets? All the different sounds, beeps and alarms. Nurses invading your space — listening, poking, and prodding. Kind of scary, right?

Now imagine that same place with a cuddly teddy bear to hold and to hug when you’re feeling scared. A teddy bear provides comfort, security, and even distractions when new people are coming in and out of your room at all hours of the day and night.

I am a nurse at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula on Main West and thanks to Teddy Bears with Heart, our unit has been able to provide teddy bears and a little bit of comfort and security to many scared hospitalized children. The bears have provided simple conversation starters such as “So, what have you named your teddy bear?” Or they’ve helped make a child comfortable before an assessment, when the nurse first listens to the teddy bear’s heart and asks, “How fast do you think a bear’s heart beats?” They provide distraction when we have to perform an unfamiliar task such as starting or removing an IV. But the best part is the patients get to take the bears home. We hope the bear will be a reminder of the special nurse who gave it to him or took such good care of her, rather than the scary, strange place it could have been.

Thank you, Teddy Bears with Heart. You have made a difference in the comfort and security of many children of all ages with your generous donations of cute and cuddly teddy bears.